Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Description:Rosalie Baker was a graphic artist for thirty-three years, and began quilting after she retired. She took a quilting class while taking adult education classes, and quickly started getting involved in a local guild. Her favorite type of quilt to make is pictorial quilts, and give lectures on them. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Description:Rosemary Kimball was interviewed as part of the South Central Michigan QSOS. She shares her experience of making quilts for family and the excitement of discovering lost family quilts.

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Quilts
Quilting
Quilting purpose
African American quilts
African American quiltmakers
African Americans--Social conditions
Male quiltmakers
African American quilts--West African influences

Description:Roy Mitchell, Jr. says that he is a collector of Black memorabilia. As he studied Black culture, he began to wonder why Black people were always negatively correlated with watermelon. In response, Mitchell created the quilt "Watermelun Babies" to portray a more positive linkage between watermelon and Black people. Mitchell says that the "Watermelun Babies" quilt has been used in the National Quilters Association show. He says that the "Watermelun Babies" quilt is traveling to multiple shows, whereas the smaller quilt has been used in school systems to teach kids about negative stigmas and how to make them positive. Mitchell says that a friend of his introduced him to quilting when he needed to find an outlet for stress relief. His method of stitching is couching, a hand piecing practice. Mitchell gives insight into how he ended up joining the King of Quilts. He describes his quilting studio. Mitchell says he travels to Africa every year and stays for a month. During his first-ever visit, he was fascinated by the African tie-dyeing method called "batik" and was inspired to create his own designs. Learning the technique is the biggest challenge to quilt makers, Mitchell claims. Mitchell says he wants to be remembered for not being afraid of a challenge and being a male quilter in a female-dominated area. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Quilting
Quilts
Quiltmaking
Quiltmakers
Quilters
Families.
Quiltmaking process

Description:Ruth Wescott Duncan discusses her education and career as a librarian. Duncan says that her childhood quilt and the quilt she is showing today are similar. Her childhood quilt is in the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich and has six generations' worth of quilts. She talks about her favorite and least favorite aspects of quilting, and how many hours per day she spends quilting. Duncan has been with the Cardinal Quilters since 1987 and met them when she was a librarian at the Duncan Branch Library. She mentions that in 1986 she was a member of Beth Ford's beginner's quilting class. She shares that she has retired at 45, but is still with the Cardinal Quilters. During her time as a Cardinal Quilter, she says she has held positions such as secretary and president. Duncan says that the group is much smaller than it used to be due to deaths and people moving away. Duncan mentions that there is a quilting group at her church that she is a part of. With her church group, she has made handmade quilts with machine appliqued hands that were traced from members of the congregation. [show more]

Description:Salinda Ash is quilter from Michigan who began in 1988 when she switched from apparel to quiltmaking. She learned to sew from her mother and finds fabric choice the most pleasant part of quiltmaking. Ash belongs to the Cal-Co Quilters Guild, and a sewing circle called Ladies of the Lake. [show more]

Description:Sally Ambrose started quilting in 1984 when she moved to Washington. Her grandmother was a quilter and she believes the story makes the quilt. In this interview she describes an unfinished quilt with a long history that she acquired and completed.

Subject:Quilts
Quilting
Decorative arts
Textiles
Textile artists
Community
Family
Family histories
Women

Description:Paulette Lancaster interviews Sally Ambrose, a quilter and quilt appraiser, for the Quilters' S.O.S. Oral History Project. Ambrose discusses the quilt she has brought in for the interview and its deep meaning to her family. She talks about her experiences in learning to quilt, her preferred techniques in quilting, and who and what she has created quilts for. She discusses her career as a quilt appraiser and the quilting community to which she belongs. Ambrose details the emotional aspects of quilting. Sally Ambrose started quilting in 1984 when she moved to Washington. Her grandmother was a quilter and she believes the story makes the quilt. In this interview she describes an unfinished quilt with a long history that she acquired and completed. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Quilts
Quilting
Textiles
Textile artists
Decorative arts
Crafts & decorating
Quilts--Design.
Families
Women
Artists
Sewing
Sewing machines
Machine sewing
Grandfathers
Embroidery
Arts & crafts
Quilting today
Internet
Intellectual property
Fabrics
Fabric arts

Description:Jo Frances Greenlaw interviews Sandra Leichner, an award-winning quilter. Leichner discusses her quilt "Pharaoh" in great detail, which won best in show for the quilt festival where the interview takes place. Leichner talks about how she began quilting and her creative and technical processes in her quilting, including her favorite aspects of quilting, her ability to hand quilt as well as machine quilt, and her personal quilting style and influences. She talks about the quilters in her family. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Description:Interviewed at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, in 2011, Sarah Abright Dickson shares her touchstone quilt, which she made when her mother was dying of cancer in 1978. Dickson makes the most of a small studio in her apartment, valuing the time she is able to spend quiltmaking while working a full time job. She embraces the changes to quiltmaking, and urges fellow quilters to let their hearts and minds guide the process. [show more]

Type:Oral History